Structure

During the last 30 years, the Artistic Department has expanded from 50 musicians to the present 88. It now includes an Artistic Director, an Assistant Conductor, a Research Fellow, a Research Development Officer (Musical Instrument), a Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor, a Deputy Concertmaster and Principal, Section Leader and Principals (2), Principals (12), Assistant Principals (9) and musicians (59). The Orchestra has four sections: bowed-strings, plucked-strings, wind and percussion, which incorporate traditional and modernized Chinese instruments as well as suitable western instruments.

Chew Hee-chiat Associate Conductor

Currently Associate Conductor of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Chew Hee-chiat was able to play many types of Chinese musical instruments when he was in secondary school, and received composition lessons from Saw Boon Kiat of Malaysia and renowned composer Qian Zhaoxi of China. He went to the United States in 1990 to take up a double degree programme at the Southeast Missouri State University in computer science and music (with a cello major). He went on to read a postgraduate course at the University of South Carolina under Dr Donald Portnoy, and was awarded a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting in 1996.

Chew was appointed Music Director of the Professional Cultural Centre Orchestra (PCCO) of Malaysia in 1996, a position that involved not only conducting but also orchestral development. In 1999, he conducted the Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra in Singapore and the Hong Kong Music Lover Chinese Orchestra in Hong Kong in two critically acclaimed concerts. In July 2000, he collaborated with Maestro Yan Huichang in two sold-out concerts at the Istana Budaya (National Theatre), and held a joint master class for conducting in Malaysia in which many young and promising Chinese orchestra conductors participated.

In April and June 2002, Chew was invited by the HKCO to guest conduct two concert series, Cook up Some Music and Music from the Heart II - Join up with the World. Soon after joining the HKCO in June the same year, he was actively engaged in conducting, arranging and orchestration work for the many concerts of the orchestra. In March 2004, he guest conducted the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in a highly successful concert, A Nanyang Musical Voyage II. More recently, Chew conducted the Opening Rally of the Hong Kong Dizi and Xiao Festival organised by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 2005. More than 500 players performed his work A Celebration of Dizi under his baton. The event made the Guinness Book of Records as having the largest number of people playing the dizi at the same time.

Conducting aside, Chew is also an active composer. His works have characteristic features that demonstrate his Southeast Asian cultural heritage. They include Orchestra Suite No.1 and Orchestra Suite No.2 which won him the second runner-up prize in the International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Compositions 2000 organized by HKCO; The Third, which won him the Outstanding Composition Award in the Chinese Music Competition 2002 organized by the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan; Fantasy Dance (a Hong Kong premiere); Tradition? for bangdi and small orchestra (a Singapore premiere); Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra and his arrangements of the Malaysian folk song, Ulek Mayang, and Bizet/ Sarasate¡¦s Carmen Fantasy for dizi and orchestra; and Western Film Classics Suite.

Yuen Shi-chun was born into a family of architects. He joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1974 and was appointed Liuqin Principal of the Orchestra in 1987.  Currently he is the Research Development Officer (Musical Instrument).

In 1993, Yuen was appointed a member of the “Experts of Chinese musical instrument improvement?and the “Technology Advancement Award Adjudication Committee?of the Ministry of Culture.

For the past two decades, Yuen has consistently worked on the improvement and design of Chinese plucked instruments. He has designed models of liuqin with double resonators and ruanxian. In 1992 and 1996 Yuen won the Technology Advancement Award from the Chinese Ministry of Culture for his liuqin and ruanxian respectively. In 1998, he was given the same award for the consort of ruanxian he made.

In 2003, Yuen received the Award for Arts Achievement by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

A celebrated huqin master, Wong On-yuen graduated from the Secondary School affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1963, and the China Conservatory in 1968 where he was trained by Nie Jingyu and Professor Lan Yusong.  He is currently the Concertmaster-cum-Assistant Conductor of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. 

Wong made his Taiwan debut in 1983 at the International Arts Festival, and was the first recitalist in Chinese music in Taiwan, in particular the first concert of its kind to have a full-house attendance.  In 1986, he went to South Korea with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra to participate in a touring performance for the Asian Games, and in 1989, he was on a Japan performing tour with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.  He has held more than a hundred huqin solo recitals since 1981. 

In 1991, he gave a solo recital debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York.  A critique in The New York Times has this to say of his performance, ?.The huqin family of the Chinese strings seems to have opened up for Westerners a more refined and intricate space in art? “the variety of tone colour he produced was enough to make a listener momentarily regard the four strings of the violin as needless luxury.?/span>

Wong has cut 26 solo recordings and was the producer of 26 albums of Chinese music.  The Huqin World of Wong On-yuen (1984) won the Gold Tripod Award for the Best Performance, the first ever presented by the Taiwan Government Information Office.  He was selected as one of the Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1985.  His recording of Toasting Song won another Gold Tripod Award for Best Recording in 1987. He was presented with the Performer of the Year Award by the Hong Kong Artists?Guild in 1989 and the Most Outstanding Asian Artists Award by the Chinese-American Arts Council of New York in 1991, the latter of which was among the Top Ten Music Stories of the Year in Hong Kong.  In 1992, his album Wong On-yuen and the Twelve Kinds of Huqin won the Album of Best Performance Award of Taiwan's China Times Evening Post.  In May the same year, he was voted one of the Outstanding Gentlemen of the 1990's by the RED company of the United States.  He was named one the "Outstanding Alumni" on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the China Conservatory of Music in 1994.  He was made an MBE (a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1997.

In 1999, Wong was on the cover of Strad, the world's leading magazine on string music.  His professional image led to many advertising as well as community engagements over the years.  They include a print ad and TV ad for Jih Sun Securities of Taiwan in 1989 and another print ad for ONKYO Hi-fi of Japan in 1995.  As a representative figure among immigrants in Hong Kong, he was also invited to appear in a television and radio ad for the Government Information Service in 2001 and another radio ad for the Legislative Council Election Campaign in 2003.  In 2001, Wong's native place in Beijing named a primary school after him for his generous donation to the school.

Gaohu

Hsin Hsiao-ling (Principal)		Wong Kam-shu		Chu Yung		Cheng Yuting		Ng Kwok-kwong
He Tao		Ngai Kwun-wa

Erhu

Hsin Hsiao-hung (Principal)		(Assistant Principal)		Wong Yung		Sze Poon-chong		Xu Hui
Tong Koon-yan		Lu Yunxia		Wong lok-ting		Zhang Chongxue		Zhao Lei
Siu Sau-han		So Shun-yin

Zhonghu

Liu Yang (Principal)		Hui Yin (Assistant Principal)		Wong Chi-wah		To Shek-chor		Chang Hung-chung
Pang Yui-sing		Siu Sau-lan

Gehu

Tung Hiu-lo (Principal)		Lo Chun-wo(Assistant Principal)		Li Hung-kwan		Tng Kin-seng		Cheung King-mui
Wan Man-leung		Ngai Hon-yip

Bass Gehu

Chan Kung-ki (Principal)		Lee Pak-wai		Vonghemrat Pichan		Qi Hongwei

Born into a musical family, Wong Chi Ching entered the China Broadcast Chinese Orchestra in 1976 and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1987. Currently, she is the Section Leader of Plucked-strings and Pipa Principal of the Orchestra. Since 1995, she has been learning Peking Opera under Bao Youdie.

Wong is a versatile pipa artiste with a rich repertoire that comprises works by different composers, in different styles and at different times. Noted for her pure tone colour and artistic appeal, she is praised by critics as “musical, also artistically and technically proficient? Wong is a much sought-after soloist, having collaborated with the Philippines Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Municipal Chinese Orchestra, Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Central Folk Orchestra of China.

Wong is also a keen supporter of modern music. In October 1995, at the ISCM World Music Days Festival held in Hong Kong, Wong performed two new works by local composer, Law Wing-fai, Shake n’Roll and Ink Spirit for pipa and strings quartet with great success. Then in April 1996, she participated in an innovative performance that integrated music with dance entitled Zi Lian Kuang. In her performance of King Chu Doffs His Armour with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, she added a cadenza where she sang with her own accompaniment on the pipa.

In January 1997, Wong performed at the Composers Seminar organized by the Taipei Municipal Chinese Orchestra in Taiwan. In March of the same year, she performed a zhongruan concerto Remembrance of Yunnan with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In June 1997, she performed a symphonic piece When Mountains Roar for Chinese-Western orchestra with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. After receiving critical acclaim in the 2000 Hong Kong Arts Festival programme “Pipa Images? she gave a highly successful performance with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta at Saint-Riquier Festival in France next year.

Sun Yongzhi entered the Xian Conservatory of Music in 1977 where he was trained by Yuan Xiuhe and dizi maestro Zhao Songting.   After graduating with distinction in 1982, he stayed on at the Conservatory to teach.  He was appointed Dizi Principal of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1997, and is currently also the Section Leader (Wind).  Sun also teaches dizi at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Apart from teaching, Sun is a recording artiste, having recorded for many productions in film and television and studio work.  He was the lead player in the film soundtrack music Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker and The True Hearted by Zhao Jiping, the famous composer in film music.  He has also won in many dizi competitions in China.

Sun has been on many overseas tours as a member of the delegations of China Youth Arts Troupe, the Shaanxi Cultural Exchange Group, the Xian Musicians Ensemble and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.  The countries he has visited include the United States, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, the Middle East and Japan.

Yim Hok-man is a renowned percussionist with more than forty years of performing experience. Accomplished in percussion instruments of both east and west, Yim has won popular and critical acclaim in various parts of the world.

Yim began learning to drum when he was ten. At 14, he was admitted to the Music School affiliated to the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China to study western percussion music for five years. After graduating with distinction, he joined the Central Philharmonic Orchestra as a percussionist and stayed with it for 20 years. During that period, he also learned Peking Opera percussion music as well as Zhoushan Gong and Drum Music under virtuosi in the two performing art forms.

During the 1970s, he was on tour with the China Arts Troupe to Japan and the US, where his performance of Zhoushan Gong and Drum Music was warmly received.  In the 1980s, he diligently studied the art of Xian Drum Music and Chaozhou Gongs and Drums.  In July 1989, he was soloist in the concert series The Art of Chinese Percussion in Hong Kong. 

During the 1990s, Yim took part in many music and arts festivals, including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Macau International Arts Festival, the International Music Festival, the 1998 World Expo at Lisbon, the Taipei International Percussion Festival, the National Drum Competition for the 24 Solar Terms held in Malaysia, the Cannes Film Festival in France.  Yim has given many touring performances as a member of a delegation or orchestra, etc.  The places he has visited include the US, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Holland, Portugal, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Macau and many cities in China. 

His solo albums Master of Chinese Percussion - Yim Hok-man (1) and Master of Chinese Percussion - Yim Hok-man (2) are considered quintessential representation of Yim's knowledge of percussion.  Released for international distribution in 1998 and 1999, they were highly acclaimed in the music and acoustics milieux, and are selling very well in every part of the world.

Yim is currently a member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, an honorary member of the Percussion Society under the auspices of the Chinese Musicians' Association, an honorary executive committee member of the Professional Percussionists Council of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society and the Shaanxi Percussion Society of China. He joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1984, and is currently Deputy Concertmaster cum Percussion Principal. He is also a part-time lecturer in percussion at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Yim was named "Artist of the Year 1999" by the Hong Kong Artists' Guild.

Percussion

Wang Dong (Assistant Principal)		Ronald Chin (Assistant Principal)		Gao Shan		Chan San		Liao Yi-ping